These Days
by Siriusly Green
Summary: The war is over and this new life feels like its slipping through their hands as they rebuild what's left behind and what is meant to be. But just because its meant to be doesn't mean that's the way it should be.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own and of the characters or aspects of the wizarding world created by the marvelous JK Rowling, only the plot I twisted these characters belongs to me._

A/N: Please bear with me as this is my first attempt at putting my scattered mind onto the page in front of you, and yes I am yet to find a wonderful beta of my own so until that lucky day please read and review but I beg you to be kind, as we all know how powerful words can be.

* * *

 **These Days**

Chapter 1

As Pansy walked through the large cold manor pitched in darkness hearing nothing but the soft sounds of her bare feet on the hardwood floors she wondered how long it would be until he returned home, _no point in waiting up_ she though and turned back towards the master bedroom when she heard a stumble coming from study at the other end of the hallway. She ran her way toward the fading green light reaching it just in time to see her husband stumble through the fireplace and land in a pile on the floor, she rushed down to him holding his scarred face in her hands, fresh blood dripping on the rug wounds that even after almost 24hrs weren't showing any sign of healing.

"there's my sunshine" he said to her, struggling to sit up, despite his scarred and damaged body the glimmer of light left in his eyes she knew was purely for her.

"Sweetheart sit up so I can get these wounds cleaned" she spoke gently "Jilly" as she called to the small house elf who appeared at her side bowl of Murtlap essence, cloth and pain potions at the ready. "Mistress need not worry, Jilly will have Master right as rain in no time" placing her supplies at her Masters side and pouring the potions into his mouth as if he were still a small child, she brushed his sandy hair from his sweaty brow and offered him a sweet proud smile. "that's better now isn't it Master, Jilly always look after you" since the death of his mother when he was a small boy the little elf had taken it upon herself to help turn him into the man her beloved mistress would have wanted and not like _that man_ Jilly thought to herself, shaking her head to rid herself of the thought. Once the wounds had been addressed she levitated his drowsy limp body to float down the hall to the master bedroom laying him gently on the bed, Jilly turned to Pansy "Mistress need only call should Master need anything at all" and with a graceful bow she disappeared.

"Tell me how bad was is" she said as she settled down next to him on the bed, running her hand gently over his bare chest now that the elf had removed what remained of his torn t-shirt, knowing how sensitive he would be.

"I've had better nights" he said to her with that smirk that melted her every time.

"Theo… I really think we should talk to someone, it's getting worse and I…" he put his finger to her lips to silence her "The wolf had his time and now because of that I need to rest, we will talk about this later Flossy" he reached for her hand still on his chest and kissed the inside of her wrist.

Defeated she lay down next to him watching in the dim light, his brow furrow and eyes darting under the lids in fighting the last traces of his demons until his breathing slowed and with deep even breaths and he drifted off.

Hours later she jolted awake as Theo tossed and turned next to her, his body ridged and dripping in sweat, she tried to shake him to wake him from his terror "THEO! Theo wake up! It's just a nightmare" she reached for her wand lighting the room and turned to face the bright gold eyes and bared teeth of the wolf within. All colour left her face as her breath hitched in her throat with a sharp inhale, with wide eyes she lowered her wand slightly to reduce the threat of the beast "Theo" she said softly tilting her head slightly, offering the sight of her bare neck as a sign of submission to the alpha. His tongue ran across his lips and over his sharp teeth, eyes flashing gold again and he went to lunge at her but she was quicker a silent Petrificus Totalus hit him and knocked him flat wide eyes looking livid at her.

"JILLY!" she screamed panting hard, the elf appeared looking at her Mistress and the with horror at her beloved master "its ok Mistress, it will all be ok" the small elf said taking her hand to stroke the back of it until Pansy's breath returned back to normal "Jilly will go fetch some Dreamless sleep for master and it will all have passed in a few hours" the elf turned and left returning seconds later with the small bottle to pour down Theos throat and his rigid body lay trapped under the spell cast by his wife. Pansy stroked the side of his face as his angry gold eyes seem to still and change back to their normal blue-grey and look at her with a sorrow that seemed to shatter her soul.

Pansy removed the spell and as Theo looked at her with the deepest shame before he rolled onto his side and with great effort pushed himself of the bed and staggered down to the basement, throwing up wards behind him as he went so she couldn't follow. Pansy slumped to the floor and burst into tears, deep sobs racking her entire body "there, there Mistress" Jilly soothed "Jilly will go and keep Master company until morning" and with a small stroke of her hair the elf left the room.

Pansy could not control herself and wept harder, this was not how her life was meant to turn out, what happened to the happily ever after. It turned out when all your dreams came true there would always be reality there to kick you down and remind you that this was life; cruel, harsh and bittersweet. She curled herself into a ball on the soft rug hugging her legs tight to her chest until she cried herself to sleep.

She dreamt of all the happy times and all the hopes they shared together, hopes that all seem to be fading faster that she could try to stop them.

When she woke the next morning sore and stiff from sleeping on the floor, she stretched herself out like a cat twisting her tight muscles in the hopes of releasing some of the tension there. She heard a shift in the space behind her and spun around to see Theo staring at her with a look of peace mixed with something that looked like regret before he looked down. She crossed the room to stand in front of him before he caved and pulled her to him, she melted into his tall muscular frame breathing in the smell and warmth of him. He kissed the top of her head and signed deeply "that can't ever happen again, I could have hurt your or…. Worse…. Merlin I'm so sorry Flossy can you ever forgi…." She looked up to his face and silenced him with a kiss. She wrapped her arms tight around his waist as he took her face in his strong hands as he peppered it, her neck and shoulders with small feather light kisses while the both aimed to push the memories of what had happened away, deep down where they couldn't do any damage.

They never had a hope of a traditional start, the war had damaged them all. Being on the losing side of the war was never going to end well for any of them even if it wasn't a side they necessarily chose to be on, never the less after the fall of Voldemort the remaining death eaters who had not been captured or killed raced down to release their children who had been taken down to the dungeons, branded as traitors for no other reason than being Slytherins. Theo stood watching as Pansy rocked quietly in the corner feeling trapped and hopeless and remembering wanting to hold her until her pain went away.

She felt so stupid, they were going to throw her in Azkaban for yelling at them to give up their golden boy to the dark lord, all hope was lost and they had no chase of winning so the best they could all hope for was that the rest of them might be able to live out their lives in relative peace. Then eventually when they heard the fighting stop for a second time they all stood huddled together collectively waiting with baited breath for the outcome. Suddenly there was a rush of cloaks down the corridor as death eaters called out to their children and sense of relief that the order wouldn't be coming after them was quickly squashed by the cries of "Quick… Go" "We have to get out of here" "RUN!" mothers and fathers screaming for their children in the hope of escaping together before they were captured.

A familiar blonde hair stood out to Pansy the most as Draco ran towards her wrapping his best friend into a tight hug, then the broke sobbing hysterically into his shoulder, he called over her head "Theo! Quick help me, I've got to get her out of here!" and as the wards had been so severely damaged, the two friends moved to disapparate "follow me" Draco said with a nod to Theo and with the small girl held tightly between them they turned on their heels and left the devastation of the old building behind them.

"How is this place even standing" Theo said looking around in awe "I thought the Dark Lord destroyed every Death Eater dwelling except Malfoy Manor so he could keep tabs on everyone?" Draco looked at him and Pansy with a proud smirk on his face "Great Uncle Alphard left this place to mum as a secret getaway when she was young and made her the secret keeper. Before I started school, she made me secret keeper, destroyed all the paperwork and had me take over the house, don't ask, a bit of blood magic may or may not have been involved but basically its completely off the grid, if he never knew it existed he never knew to take it and as dear old dad doesn't know anything about it he couldn't offer it up to fix his many mistakes. Plus, even if they did know it was here it's far too close to mudbloods and blood-traitors for a death eater to be happy with" he stopped to look over in the distance pointing at a shadow in the moonlight sitting high on the hill a dozen or so miles away "See that building in the distance, looks a bit like a chess piece" Pansy squinted and wrapped her arms around herself in the cold. "that is the home of the editor of the Quibbler and his looney daughter" Theo and Pansy looked at each other and then back to Draco before saying in unison "Lovegood!" with a roll of his eyes Draco turned heading towards the front door "You two coming or what?" as he stepped in to the cottage.

The next few weeks passed by in a blur as the three of them settled into a routine but constantly on edge, Pansy was the worst jumping at the smallest things. However, Draco's' mother Narcissa had clearly prepared for the worst-case scenario by stocking the cottage to the rafters with supplies, Draco couldn't help but feel she had planned that this was where she would run into hiding with her only son, protected away from the horrors of the world until it was safe for them again. He blinked back tears remembering her eyes locked on him, the last thing she would ever see after the Dark Lord threw the killing curse at her, furious she had fooled him as Harry Potter, not dead as she claimed, but running very much alive over to his friends. He had just stood there next to his father without even a second to react as the green light hit her fair in the chest he felt his heart in his own chest break mouth open in a silent horrified wail unable to move or make a sound. His father however didn't show any hint of emotion, he had long since given up thinking of his own self-preservation no sign of the fierce loyalty that truly made you a real Slytherin. Wiping tears angrily from his face his scoffed at though hoping wherever his father was he was suffering.

It was at the end of their third week of hiding Draco started getting restless and increasingly irritated at not knowing what was happening in the outside world "Draco come sit, you're making Pansy more anxious with your pacing" Theo called out to his old friend and Draco completed another lap of his well-worn path between the kitchen and lounge room. As Draco slumped into the couch next to Pansy she kicked the end of her feet out throwing the end of her afghan rug to cover his legs, settling back to continue reading her book now that she was able to concentrate on the words on the pages again.

The three sat in silence, Theo eyes closed but not asleep, Draco watching as the flames danced in the fireplace forcing himself to take deep breathes to relax _It will all be ok, it will all be ok, I'll keep them safe_ he thought to himself over and over until he almost believed it himself. That was until he felt his forearm burn white hot as hard as the day he was branded, he and Theo both cried out looking at each other with terror in their eyes. Before anyone had a chance to say anything both Dark Marks glowed blue and the young death eaters vanished from sight, leaving the screaming Pansy clutching at where her friends had once stood.


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I do not own and of the characters or aspects of the wizarding world created by the marvelous JK Rowling, only the plot I twisted these characters belongs to me._

A/N: Please bear with me as this is my first attempt at putting my scattered mind onto the page in front of you, and yes, I am yet to find a wonderful beta of my own so until that lucky day please read and review but I beg you to be kind, as we all know how powerful words can be.

These Days

Chapter 2

Theo and Draco landed harshly on the cold stone path as they felt the ropes binding them wrap tightly around them, a silencing spell knock the cries out of their mouths, while wands flew from their hands. Theo could smell the bitter briny smell of the ocean and a deep dread filled him, dread filling him as he knew the stories of this place and the main reason he and Draco had ran in the first place was to avoid capture and imprisonment in this soulless place.

Azkaban sat far out to sea on an island only big enough to hold the inmates, magically enlarging and shrinking to accommodate the number of cells needed at any one time landing just outside the entrance the boys looked at each other and then up the side of the massive building currently towering up into the night sky. Dark drifting shapes floated around the outsides of the prison, the dementors slowing started to descend towards the commotion by the entry sensing the new pray for them to feed on.

Looking around Theo tried to do a quick head count but the more he struggled the tighter his bindings became, he stilled and tried to calm himself. He thought there was roughly 50, mostly men including Draco and his fathers, a handful around his age but mostly middle age and a few women, along with half a dozen Aurors judging by their robes who were walking among the restrained bodies picking up wands and checking everyone was properly detained.

 _Deatheaters all of them marked_ Theo thought _how on earth did they get us all here._ Suddenly he saw the infamous bushy haired young woman who had squashed every hope of his and Draco's chance to top their classes. She was talking rapidly with the new Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, his deep voice carrying to where Theo lay motionless.

"Excellent job Hermione, I knew you were wrong to doubt yourself, you should have more faith in your skills" Kingsley said to her, giving her a comforting pat on the shoulder.

"Thank you sir, I do hope we haven't some how missed anyone" she replied, looking around at the bodies. Her eyes fell on Theo and he could see a look of determination but also something else that looked slightly like pity, he glowered back at her, he did not need her pity. Even thought it was not his choice to be in this situation he still didn't need the pity of a girl who knew nothing of the circumstances that lead to him taking the mark nor would she be likely to ever care.

Hermione and the Minister were moving among the group whispering between themselves as the small witch made notes on a clipboard, once she had completed her rounds she copied her notes giving a copy to each of the Aurors who began moving the men one by one into the tower and off to their cell, followed by the women. Finally, all that remained were the 4 boys, Draco, Theo, Blaise Zabini & Gregory Goyle who all looked silently and wide eyed at each other.

Looking down at the list as he returned a tall muscular Auror said "are you sure about this Miss, they are marked death eaters, they don't deserve any sort of comfort or leniency" Hermione squared her shoulder and looked the Auror straight in the eye "are you questioning my judgement Proudfoot? Because the Minister didn't seem to have a problem with my plan to round up the criminals when I discovered how to link their dark marks and capture them all in one foul swoop! Unless of coarse you had a better plan all along and could have ended this all sooner" she fumed at him, the ends of her hair prickling with magic as she spoke. The Auror looked put out and quickly said "not at all miss I just didn't want them conspiring together to undo all of your hard work" Hermione took a deep breath to calm herself and gestured towards her former school adversaries "These inmates will be paired off until their trial, given their age and family histories it would be cruel to assume they are wholeheartedly for the cause and until proved otherwise we should allow them some comfort in the hope that they are found to be merely just another casualty of this dreadful war, however just to be on the safe side the silencing charms will not be lifted until their trial to minimize the risk of, how did you put it?... oh yes conspiring together to plot my undoing"

At this announcement Theo saw Draco begin thrashing violently against his restraints that Theo saw them slowly becoming tighter, the skin showing at his neck becoming raw and deep red, veins creeping up his neck and cheeks eyes bulging wide in pure terror. "Stupefy" Proudfoot lazily flicked his wand at him, the stunning spell not enough to do any real damage but just enough to knock him out. As Theo saw Draco's body go limp and the ropes ease off he hoped they would be locked up together so he could at the very least be paired with his oldest friend and with a bit of luck be able to keep each other sane until their trials, wondering if they did indeed have any hope of an actual fair trial.

The four young men had been levitated and along with their captors made their procession into the tower, they had gratefully been given rooms on the lower floors where the soul deadening cold didn't seem quite as harsh, Theo knew from when his father had been imprisoned last time before his escape that the more dangerous and longer term of the inmate the higher up in the tower they were kept, clearly and thankfully Theo thought the Order did not see them as too much of a threat.

As they walked down the hallways the group stopped at the first door on the right which Goyle and Zabini were pushed into, hearing he heavy door lock the Auror at the head of the group flicked his wand through the tiny barred window in the door before they carried on down the corridor, Theo turned to look as he drift past to notice their ropes had been release and the two boys were rubbing their arms and neck to relieve some of the pain left by the raw rope burns.

A few metres further another heavy door opened and the still unconscious Draco and Theo were lead inside before the same resounding clunk of the door locking and then Theo felt his body go limp, no longer being held strong by the ropes, he crumpled to the floor as the cold empty feeling filled him in the dark cell. Rubbing his aching limbs, he crawled towards Draco to check if he was ok, the ropes had made deep cuts through his skin and robes where he had fought the restraints but Theo knew he had been through worse. He moved the unconscious body to a more comfortable position hoping his friend would wake up soon, the eerie quiet of the place without the usual screams was haunting him.

What felt like hours later Draco stirred and Theo rushed over to him, his eyes shot wide open as he scanned the room. Jumping to his feet he frantically searched for a way out, clawing at the walls and door until his fingers bled and nails were shredded, Theo ran after him around the cramped room trying to silently stop his friend, it was impossible, he grabbed Draco by the arm and pulled him around to face him, placing both hand on the frantic boy's shoulders to try and get him to look at him. The silver stare of his friend burnt into his soul as the boys tried to communicate without words but it was hopeless, they had trained for too long on how to lock people out of their minds and never to let anyone in. Draco pushed away from him and curled himself up in a tight ball by the far wall, looking out the small barred window into the night silently praying for this nightmare to end.

On the third day of watching Draco throw himself at any surface he could find Theo couldn't stand to watch anymore, his best friend was covered in cuts and bruises but no level of trying to console his friend could make him stop. Theo had taken to counting the time between the passing of the guards by the cell door, knowing at this point it was the only thing that would stop Draco from hurting himself, the monsters were feeding off Draco and his strength so they seemed to be stopping for longer each time they went past, sucking hope from the room until the blonde crumpled into the corner, all determination for escape drained from the boy as his body shook with heavy sobs.

Theo had never seen him so broken, not even during their 6th year as he tried over and over to complete the task the Dark Lord had set him. It was late that afternoon where it seemed Draco had finally started to succumb to his injuries, wincing whenever he moved staying as far away from Theo as possible. Theo couldn't understand why his friend of so long seemed to be blaming him for their capture and imprisonment, it wasn't as though any of the marked had been able to avoid it and he was just as scared as Draco was at the thought of being locked up forever in this place, eventually driven into despair and madness like the others before them. He looked out to the darkening sky and sea from their tiny window, he could just make out the white caps on the wave as the spray shot high into the air falling back to the earth like snowflakes, leaning his head back against the stone wall he closed his eyes and tried to remember the snowball fights the Slytherin's would have in the Hogwarts grounds as children before everything got so unbelievably hard.

All of a sudden, he heard Draco's rushing footsteps as he crossed the room straight for him and before he could stop him he felt the crunch of Draco's knuckle against his nose and jaw, he slumped down to the floor and Draco was straddling him rage like Theo had never seen in his eyes as the blonde boy wrapped his porcelain white hands around Theos throat and squeezed with every strength left in his body. Theo struggled, gasping for air trying with all his might to get Draco to loosen his grip, Draco had gone mad, lost all sanity in just three days and turned on him. He could feel himself going limp and there were little stars popping in his eyes as the room was filled with the light of the rising full moon, he took one last look at the man he basically considered as a brother and watched just as he was about to black out as the silver pained eyes flashed gold as Draco started his transformation.

As the wolf stretch his limbs pacing the cage he was trapped in, Theo could feel his heart thundering in his chest as he tried to pretend he was unconscious and not appear as a threat to the beast. Years with Fenrir Greyback lurking around had taught them all to appear as submissive as possible so as to not enrage the wolf. He was shocked, how could he never have known Draco had been turned, if he could only calm his breathing he might live long enough to ask him once the sun came up.

The wolf let out a low growl startling Theo with the first sound he had heard in days and then with a deep breath standing high up on its hind legs it let out an almighty howl into the vast black emptiness of the North Sea, the sound had Theos heart racing once again and the beast snapped its head in Theos direction feeling the change and smelling his fear, crouching back down on all fours it moved towards the shaking body in the corner a growl low in its chest as it sniff the boy. There was a movement in the hallway and the wolf looked up to hear the Aurors, which had been stationed just outside the walls as extra security until the trial, running down the hallway wands held high as red shots of light came flying into the cell, one hit the wolf in the shoulder enraging him. Theo tucked himself tight in the corner _these idiots are going to get me killed!_ He thought _how can they be trained wizards and not know that stunning spells have no effect on werewolves other than to_ _severely_ _piss off said wolf_.

The wolf turned remembering the body in the corner and now seeing it as threat he turned and leapt at him "DRACO NO!" Theo screamed at the wolf praying the remaining human part of Draco's soul would hear and be able to stop the animal. Theo looked up to see the razor-sharp teeth bared at him, eyes solid gold no trace of humanity from days of being drained by the dementors, feeling bile rise in his throat as the panic set in he hoped the end would be quick, one more stunning spell hit the wolf in the back and he roared again claws swiping wildly at the air hitting Theo in the chest before sinking his teeth into his neck. Pain ripped through Theo as he struggled against the huge wolf as his vision went black and just as he slipped into unconsciousness he felt the wolf fly from him and hit the back wall completely restrained snapping viciously and letting out one final long howl before silence and peace enveloped Theo.


End file.
